I'm leaving on a jet plane... or rather a cruise ship.

And I'm going to try my very best to stay on plan. My travel partner is my best girlfriend and we've been going on vacations annually together since graduating from nursing school in 2005. She had lap band surgery three or four years ago and while maintaining her weight loss, continues to regurgitate or vomit several times a week when we're together and foods get "stuck" and eats mostly carbs and junk. I eat much more healthfully than she does (though admittedly WAY faster!) as far as nutritional content, but I'm a little worried about what's going to happen this week as it's the first time I'll be really away from home and the comfort of preparing my own foods or knowing the stores and restaurants where I can buy what I need to make it work.

I know that cruises offer a buffet for breakfast and lunch, and I'm going to bank on eggs and cheeses and fish for breakfast and am sure that'll be fine. Dinner's are usually ok because they'll hopefully have a fish option or may be able to cook me something to order in the fine dining setting. Lunch may be a bit difficult as I don't eat poultry or meat and want to stay away from the carbs as much as possible... I'm thinking I'll be able to eat at the salad bar and add beans and nuts and cheese and hardboiled egg if they have that stuff.

I've packed 4 workout outfits with the idea that even if I don't make it to the gym on the ship, I'd like to spend a half hour every day power walking or jogging on the top deck.

I am not going to bring my weigh scale or my food scale, but I'm thinking of bringing a half-cup measuring cup, if for nothing more than eyeballing purposes. I was planning to bring some Nectar packets but I moved and they're lost in the sea of boxes piled up in my dining room, so that option is out. Silly as it sounds, I'm thinking of bringing a package of LF string cheese sticks to keep in the minifridge in the room for emergency snacks late at night or between meals when only the pizza/sundae/hotdogs/junk are available.

I'm hoping that with planning, a steady mindset of wanting to succeed and my wonderful new sleeve as a tool that I'll be able to skip the crap and do what's right for me...

But it's not stopping me from being nervous.

Any words of wisdom for a nervous soul?

Sounds like you have a plan in mind and I am sure that you can stick to the basics and do well. Just remember protein first, veggies second, all else third. Do you best to get some exercise, but if you are having too much darn fun and can't get to it, don't beat yourself up. It is a vacation enjoy it!  And who knows, maybe you will teach your friend a thing or two that she forgot :)

I think you'll be fine.  You have a good plan put together.  I'm not as far out as you and I travel a lot for work.  So I often find myself in a situation where I can't make my own food.  And sometimes I don't have my own microwave or fridge.  So just stick to protein as much as possible.  I'm guessing you'll be able to order things prepared as you like at dinner.  There should be lots of choices for breakfast & lunch.  And you'll have your cheese sticks along for a snack.

Be sure to drink a lot of water!  And have a great time!

I went on a Mediterranean Cruise 6 weeks out. I even thought about postponing my surgery until after this cruise, but my Dr said I would be fine. He was right. We spent 4 days in Rome...and yes I had pasta, but mostly proteins and then the cruise has SO MANY choices, it really was easy. It was actually the time I learned what felt good in my tummy and what didn't. I didn't NOT try anything I wanted simply bc it wasn't on plan. I was on vacation after all. But I found after a time or 2 I gravitated towards those things that made my tummy feel good. Proteins and I ate good carbs. I hardly ate any bread. It sits too heavy in my stomach so I just don't. I worked out almost daily and when I didn't...we were on excursions that involved miles of walking. The day after I got home I was exactly the same as when I left 16 days earlier but the day after THAT I lost 6 lbs. I think I retained some fluid etc with flying a long distance. So go enjoy. You are much farther out than I was. Relax and experience a vacation like you never have before. Do things you never thought you would do and remember how good it feels to feel so good. 
HAVE FUN!!! I am right behind you in Nov...PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MX! Can't wait!
Linda B

Take me with you?? I'm much smaller than I was, so if you have a really big suitcase....

No, huh? OK, then.

My only suggestion is to get some protein to take with you just in case. You may never use it, but it would be better if you have it. I do think you'll do fine in having good foods available, though. There's always too much to eat on cruises so temptation might be an issue but not having protein foods you can choose from is not likely to be a problem.

Have fun!! Try to relax a little. Stay on plan, but try not to let the food choice and exercise issues dominate your vacation.

I'm a fast eater, so it's ironic that I'm giving this advice...  Try to eat a little slower than nornal during meal time, so that you have more time to process your meals and don't accidently overeat. 

When I go on a cruise next year I'm bringing my favorite high protein snacks - beef jerky and soynuts, measured into 1 ounce servings :)

 In my experience, you should be FINE!!!  There are usually lots of great seefood choices, (lox for breakfast with eggs, shrimp ****tail, baked/grilled fish, sushi stations for some ships) and plenty of healthy veggies and usually some form of beans/legumes available (hummus, black beans, refried beans, etc).  For dessert, I had a cheese and fruit plate almost every night!  yummmmmmmmm

In the dining rooms, you ae really able to special order things how you like/need them and it is not a "problem" or even anything out of the ordinary.  They are very used to dealing wiht food prefernce, allergies, intollerances, etc and this should not be an issue at all.  If it is, be sure to talk to the Maitre De and he should be able to help guide you or direct the staff to appropriately meet and EXCEDE your expectations!  

HAVE A BLAST!!!!!! 

 I had my surgery the same time as you, and eating out at restaurants and anywhere is not a problem any more...you should do great...

There are so many options and really as long as you stay active doing excursions and fun activities, you shouldn't need any "formal" exercise for your vacation.

Whenever I go away, or even out for a long day,  I still pack individual containers of peanut butter, wheat thins, raw nuts, and cheese sticks...those are my go to snacks.

But even if there was only pizza around, you could pick off the cheese and eat it.  A lot of buffets have yogurt on them for breakfast...and for lunch, there are soups, salads and sometimes chili or refried beans. And although many will disagree, but  if you had to, a little "crappy carbs" wouldn't kill you...I ate mashed potatoes when I couldn't find anything else as my "meal"...and it never hurt my weight loss.

Typically, I enjoy soups out, they are a safe and filling option. 

Good luck and have fun! :)

OH! I almost forgot re: cruises. I finally got them to give me 1/2 portions at dinner somewhere after the 1st couple days. I HATED wasting all that food and they kept asking me if the food was ok. If you tell your server the 1st day that you would like 1/2 portions for a special diet, they will remember that and you won't have to keep repeating yourself or feel guilty about leaving all that food.
Linda B

Thanks for the ideas and reassurance, everyone!

I'm leaving for the ship in just a few hours and feel much better about things... I know that once I see that blue water and feel the warm sun on my shoulders, I'll relax and likely not worry about much. :)

This is going to be a great vacation and a wonderful test for me to see how well I've learned my new eating habits. And, while I don't want to have that vacation mentality with food and totally go overboard (no pun intended!) with carbs and junk, I will be doing a lot of walking and moving and likely won't feel too badly about having a bite here or taste there of foods that I probably wouldn't get to try any other time.

I'll be sure to take lots of photos and post them all when I get back! Enjoy the week everyone!!